Eric Bischoff Talks The X-Division, Bound For Glory Build Up, and More

Eric Bischoff made another appearance on Monday Night Mayhem. It was a nice lengthy talk that covered a variety of issues from the buildup for bound for glory all the way to the X-Division. As always, Eric was generous with his time, and gave the fans some juicy tidbits to chew on.

Here are a few highlights of the interview.

Bischoff on the buildup for Bound For Glory compared to any of his past WCW or WWE PPV’s : "In terms of preparation, the two that come to mind: Starrcade ('97), Hogan and Sting obviously was a big one, because it was a long-term build. It wasn't a month-to-month kind of Pay-Per-View typical build; it was something we built for 12 months. Bash at the Beach ('96) when Hulk Hogan turned was something that also had a long term plan and build associated with it.

"Those are the two that come to mind. That's what I really enjoy doing, is when you have the ability to build for a Pay-Per-View over the course of three months, four months, six months...whatever it may be. That's not just a luxury we have anymore with twelve Pay-Per-Views. There's so much pressure to spend three weeks promoting, four weeks promoting, boom you have a big Pay-Per-View, then you start from scratch, and you're building again to the next Pay-Per-View. This is one where we said 'Let's really build it.' We really started really planning this one and structuring it back in March of this year. I'm excited about it."

Bischoff on how effective TNA Reaction has been for the buildup of Impact and Bound For Glory: "I think it definitely has. I think Reaction has done a phenomenal job. When we created the show and started laying it out on paper, one of the things we wanted to do was to create a television show that allowed people to get inside the heads of the talent and hear from the talent in a different way than they normally do, and I think ReAction has achieved that.

"It's a fresh, innovative approach that has never been done in wrestling before, and it just has a different feel to it, but the best part is if you watch it, you get to hear from the talent over an extended period of time. You're hearing from them in their own personal point of view. It's not a one or two-minute interview; there's no time constraints. If we sit down with AJ Styles and shoot Reaction footage, we may shoot 20 minutes of questions and answers, and we edit it the way flows best, but it gives the talent a chance to voice their feelings, opinions, and perspectives in an entirely different way."

Bischoff on the WWE promoting Mick Foley’s new book: "In terms of the promotion that it's getting, I think it's great for Mick obviously, because the WWE is a promotional machine, and them putting it out there and promoting it to their fanbase is a great opportunity for Mick. How it's happening? Why it's happening? I really don't know. It could have been a pre-existing deal with Mick, because of the books he's published previously with the WWE. It could be a 'one-off' deal. I would imagine it's a business transaction, because the WWE doesn't do anything, nor should they, if it doesn't benefit them as a company."

Bischoff on the little build up the X-Division has seen for Bound For Glory: "What it really comes down to is we only have so much television time. We have a lot of things we have to serve. A lot of storylines, a lot of characters, and things have to be prioritized in a certain way. While the X-Division is a very vital and unique part of TNA's profile, right now it's not a priority for this particular Pay-Per-View (Bound For Glory). It may be the #1 priority for the next Pay-Per-View, but you can't promote all things, all the time, all at 100 percent. Sometimes you have to cycle storylines, characters, and in this case, a division, because we have to put the emphasis on the key story. If we had a three-hour show every week, we might possibly keep everything at a higher profile, but unfortunately that's not the case."